The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia appreciated the role played by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) towards addressing the situation of refugees around the world, stressing its continuing cooperation and coordination with the UNHCR in serving refugees and alleviating their suffering. In a speech delivered today, the Kingdom's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Wasel said that the Kingdom, since its establishment, has paid great attention to humanitarian and charitable work, adding that it plays a pivotal role in alleviating their suffering, where the Kingdom has provided about USD18 billion to alleviate the human suffering of refugees in many regions. He pointed out that the Kingdom deals with the issue of refugees based on the teachings of the Islamic religion which calls for peace, love and relief to the needy without ethnic or religious discrimination. "The Kingdom has hosted many refugees from many regions and provided them with medical and educational services. In line with the Kingdom's regulations, the refugee is considered as a visitor in the Kingdom," he added. He pointed out that the Kingdom has and still provided continuous financial support for the international humanitarian organizations, asserting that the Kingdom has responded to the UN humanitarian appeals in many fields. "The Kingdom supports the UNHCR activities and programs in Syria, Yemen and Bangladesh through King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief)," Al-Wasel said. With regard to the Rohingya crisis, the Saudi ambassador to the UN disclosed that the Kingdom has recently patronized a Conference of Donors for the Rohingya crisis in partnership with the UNHCR, adding that this conference provides more than USD250 million from donor states to support the joint plan for response to the Rohingya Refugee Crisis. "This year, the Kingdom supports the United Nations humanitarian programs in Yemen with more than USD930 million," he announced. He said that the Kingdom confirmed its support for the Palestinian refugees and stressed the important role played by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), adding that the Kingdom has allocated USD50 million for the agency's budget. "Based on its keenness to support the UNHCR activities and future programs, the Kingdom announced USD1 million as its annual contribution," Al-Wasel concluded.
